The environmental dimension of the regeneration of Ballymun swung into action last week when environmental consultant Trevor Graham travelled from Malmo, Sweden, to join the north Dublin residents in launching their community recycling and composting projects.
In what seems like a model scheme, the projects include a composting machine, which will produce high-quality garden compost four-to-six weeks after householders deposit their kitchen waste (including fish and meat, which are usually excluded from compost bins because of the risk of attracting vermin).
Situated in a converted lift shaft under the Ballymun flats, the Swedish composting machine is the first of its kind in Ireland. A "bring centre" is also up and running in the basement of a block of flats. There are 16 householders involved in a pilot project which tells them how much waste they have diverted from landfill. So far, thousands of plastic bottles and drinks cans have been deposited, as well as hundreds of glass bottles, plastic shopping bags, food tins and paper bags. A bounty hunters competition, for seven-to10-year-old children, resulted in more than 2,000 bottles and cans being collected. "Accessibility is the key to getting people to recycle," says Pat Turner, a Ballymun resident who is leading the project. "People don't have to think twice about recycling when there's a facility on their doorstep open in the evenings and at the weekends. We hope to inspire other communities to set up similar recycling initiatives."
COMHAR, the national sustainable development partnership, is hosting its second regional seminar to stimulate interest in Local Agenda 21, in preparation for the Government's attendance at the Earth summit, in Johannsburg, South Africa, later this year. Local participation in the democratic process, so that communities can grow in a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable direction, is at the heart of Local Agenda 21. How much has been achieved on Local Agenda 21 issues in Ireland and other European countries since the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992, will be discussed at the seminar, which takes place in the Anner Hotel, Thurles, Co Tipperary, on Thursday, February 21st , from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free. Booking details on Tel: 1890 200327; or e-mail comhar@environ.irlgov.ie
THAT there was no first prize awarded in the professional category and no prize at all awarded in the international category at the recent ESB Environmental Photography Awards ceremony can only indicate that the standard of work submitted has dropped this year. The competition attracts thousands of entries in the five categories - junior, youth, amateur, professional and international. However, upon viewing the exhibition of the 50 shortlisted photographs, it is clear that many of the most striking photographs this year are in the junior category. Most of the exhibited images focus on the beauty of nature, and entrants seem to shy away from a more challenging view of human interference with the natural environment. This is the fifth year of the awards, which are organised in association with the Irish Professional Photographers Association. The exhibition's extensive countrywide tour begins in the Gallery of Photography, Temple Bar, Dublin (until February 15th). See local press for details.
E-mail: horizons@irish-times.ie